Rajasthan boy overcomes self-doubt to script NEET success story | India News
JAIPUR: Rajasthan boy Mahesh Kumar, who secured the top rank in NEET-UG 2025 with 99.9 percentile score, has scripted a success story that challenges conventional perceptions – that English medium students have a natural advantage in competitive examinations.Hailing from the small town of Nohar in Hanumangarh district, Mahesh did not even want to take up science in class 11, let alone think of pursuing medicine, as he did not have the confidence that he, being a Hindi medium student, he could crack tough entrance examinations like JEE or NEET. It was destiny, and his determination and hard work, that he finally managed to overcome self-doubt, and cracked the medical entrance exam with all-India top rank in his very first attempt.His Hindi medium background – something Mahesh initially feared would be a disadvantage – spurred him to work extra hard, eventually helping him bag AIR-1. Mahesh said in his coaching classes, while solving practice test papers, he learnt how to make a balance between Hindi and English questions, which helped in quick solving.“A few months before the exam, pressure increases. Given last year’s NEET-UG confusion, I was tense. When we got the question paper, it was a different format. So, keeping calm and solving it under pressure was a challenge. After the exam, I knew I won’t get a score of 700. Later, when I analysed the answers, I realised that I will get a decent rank, but never thought I would be the topper,” said a beaming Mahesh.His family reveals that medical stream was not his original choice. “After class 10, when it was time to choose the stream, he was inclined towards Humanities and wanted to crack IAS or RAS. He feared that having studied in Hindi medium throughout, he might not do well in JEE or NEET. Today, Mahesh has done something we never imagined,” said his proud mother, Hemlata Bagwani, a schoolteacher.It was Mahesh’s sister Himanshi who encouraged him to pursue medicine. This motivation, combined with unwavering family support, proved crucial to his success.
